University of Utah astrophysicists and their partners in the Telescope Array Project are working to solve the mystery of the origins of cosmic rays. And they may be onto an astounding discovery, that many of the highest-energy particles come from a region near the Big Dipper.
The background
"Cosmic rays" is a misnomer, as they aren't beams but physical bits of material from elsewhere in our Milky Way galaxy and far more distant sources. These subatomic particles zap into the atmosphere